Golf team members find unity in diversity

From England to South America and back to Miami, the FIU women’s golf team has truly embraced the word “international.” Eight different women make up the team, and six of them are from a different country.

Scottish, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Chilean, American and English are the nationalities that make up perhaps the most diverse team at FIU.

“Adjusting to the mix of new cultures isn’t so bad, except for all the Spanish that I’m trying to understand,” sophomore Meghan MacLaren said with a chuckle.

MacLaren comes from Cambridge, England. She was named the Sun Belt Conference “Freshman of the Year.” She was also named as an All-Sun Belt selection and led the conference in first place finishes and in stroke average.

“I think it’s great being so diverse, we learn new things from each other all the time,” freshman Coralia Arias said.

Arias just came from Quito, Ecuador and was the first ranked amateur in her country. She has placed in the top 10 in several big tournaments including a PGA international junior tournament and the South American Championship.

The world has shrunk for these women as they find themselves in similar situations. Miles away from home and the only two things they have in common are golf and that they miss home.

“It can get hard living alone. It gets sad sometimes,” Arias said. “Imagine leaving everything you found comfortable to chase a dream.  The sacrifice athletes make often is a big one. Home is wherever you’re playing at that time.”

“Golf reminds me why I am here. When I’m out on the golf course, I forget about anything that bothers me,” MacLaren said.  “It’s these kinds of things that keep athletes going.”

They are similar to paintings in the sense that home is a canvas. Their talent provides a home for them. Every golf course is just a canvas that they paint.

“It makes me happy. Golf gives me something to do that I really like outside my country,” Arias said. “You can paint anywhere; art is art regardless of country or culture.  Just as golf is golf.”

The sense of loneliness however is treated.

“We have been through so much off the field that it’s brought us closer as a team,” MacLaren said. “I’ve adjusted okay, there are great people around me.”

None greater than Head Coach Joe Vogel.

“Coach came out to see me in England. He made me feel like I was important to the team,” MacLaren said.

“I always try to visit players, I want to impact them personally. They are important,” Vogel said. Coach Vogel comes from the Midwest in St. Louis. He is from a culture just as different as the girls’.

It all seems to work. It clicks. “Last year we had a similar situation with many girls from different countries and we won a conference championship” Vogel said.

“We aren’t so different. Yeah there are a lot of international players, but we get along great,” Arias said.

They are just painters in the end. Painting golf courses one stroke at a time.